Sarah-Jane Lehoux has always had a passion for storytelling. From grade school tales of cannibalistic ghosts, to teenaged conversations with God, to her rebellion against adulthood with fantasy kingdoms and fairy magic, she has attempted to share her love of the quirky and unconventional with her readers.

Sarah-Jane currently resides in Northern Ontario, and is an unabashed introvert with a love of nature and a thirst for knowledge. For her, a life well lived is one spent with a cat on her lap and a book in her hands.

What kind of books do you write?• I write in a variety of genres, but my aesthetic leans very much towards the dark and macabre, and while I have a fascination with the fantastical, my writing tends to be grounded in gritty realism. I tend not to shy away from difficult topics, but I’d also like to think that my books have a degree of humour to them too.

Best writing advice you’ve received?• Toni Morrison once said, “If there’s a book that you really want to read but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.”

Best writing compliment you’ve received?• A teacher once told me that I was morbid. While everyone else used writing assignments to talk about summer break, their best friend, or their favourite sport, I wrote about murder and mayhem. While I’m sure he meant it as a rebuke, I loved that my imagination was recognized even if it wasn’t exactly appreciated.

What is your writing process?• I spend more time thinking about my stories than I actually do writing them. In the shower, on the bus, lying in bed at night…I’m constantly playing out scenes, and developing characters and plots. When I’m ready to try getting it all down on paper, I use music to shut myself off from the rest of the world as well as set the tone of the scene I’m writing. I usually only write five or so pages at a time, and then obsess over those five pages for a good two or three weeks before I write anything else. It’s a combination of procrastination and perfectionism that seems to work well for me.

Any advice for amateur authors?• Be persistent. You will get rejected. Be patient. Writing a book takes a lot of work and a lot of time. Getting published takes even longer. Be professional. Nothing turns a potential publisher off like writers behaving badly. Remember, creating a story is art, but getting that story published is all business. Treat it like you would any other career.

Are you going to write more Sevy Series books?• Yes. There are two more books planned for the Sevy Series. I’ve taken a bit of a break from them to concentrate on other stories, but I will continue to work on them and hope to have Devotion, the fourth book in the series, done in the next couple of years.

Do you still sell cover art?• No, I no longer have the time nor the desire to make cover art. However, if you have purchased cover art from me in the past, I will still answer inquires at coverartbysarah-jane@live.ca.